Thursday, March 19, 2020

HR Recruitment and Selection Case Study In Elgin Pharmaceutical The WritePass Journal

HR Recruitment and Selection Case Study In Elgin Pharmaceutical Introduction:   HR Recruitment and Selection Case Study In Elgin Pharmaceutical Introduction:  The strategy of the company is:Evaluation of Current Recruitment and Selection Process:Waiting lists:For Selection company is using:1.  General Mental Ability Test:2.  Semi-Structured Interviews:Proposal:The first step in pre-recruitment is:1.  Establishing evidence case for recruitment:2.  Job Analysis:1.  Internal survey:2.  External survey:Another main step for job analysis is job description:Job description for the child care and development centre is given below:Person Specification:3.  Labour Market Assessment:The Third step is Selection:Structured interviewsTelephone interviewsConclusion:References:Appendix:Appendix 1:Company BackgroundAppendix 2:Related Introduction:   Human Resource Planning helps to find out the need of people in the organization. Job analysis and Job design indicates the responsibilities and tasks of the employees in fig.1: (K Aswathappa,2007) Recruitment and Selection both are the vital part for an organization because it directly affects organization performance, employee relations, and a positive public image. The aim of this report is to analyze the new recruitment and selection methods for hiring the new staff to establish a company crà ¨che and child development centre. This company is using the same method of recruitment (waiting lists) and selection (General Mental Ability and Semi-Structured Interviews) from last ten years. The strategy of the company is: 1)   To retain the employees for a long period of time 2)    To maintain the reputation of the company 3)      To motivate the employees to increase their performance and achieve the positive results from it In the analysis, this report analyzes the modes of recruitment and selection process like waiting lists; interviews; psychometric test, advertisement but not considered other methods. Company is using these methods from last ten years. The current recruitment and selection process is very much beneficial for the company but it is very limited. Evaluation of Current Recruitment and Selection Process: The Company is using the Recruitment and Selection process from last ten years. For recruitment company is using waiting lists: Waiting lists: These lists are made up of logical enquiries and applicants hired from the old recruitment activity. Then it provides suitable applicants that can be assessed when there will be any vacancy. Waiting lists are of low costs and resource efficient. Because candidates are already selected for the next step but they have to wait for the vacant positions in the company. These are hard to manage because these are spoiled quickly. Applications have very limited life, as candidates interest may change to other jobs. When employer reactivates the application and contact the candidate, it enhances the chances of success for candidate. Therefore, candidates can negotiate the contract terms and candidates expect more supportive behavior from the company. Waiting lists could cause discrimination among the candidates because they may restrict from the jobs again. (S.Pilbeam and M.Corbridge,2006) For Selection company is using: 1.  General Mental Ability Test: It is also called psychometric test. These tests are used for assessment and evaluation of the test taker by a competent examiner. It is used to check he intelligence and knowledge of the candidate. Its advantage is that candidates cannot lie in it. Moreover biasness can be avoided. This test is used where there are number of candidates for the job. These tests are quite useful than the interviews because real information can be more easily taken from tests instead of the interviews. It’s more reliable and valid. Non-minorities typically score one standard deviation above minorities which may result in adverse impact depending on how the scores are used in the selection process Differences between males and females in abilities (e.g., knowledge of mathematics) may negatively impact the scores of female applicants. ( V.Joosten,2005) (C.Jackson,1996) To see the examples of this test see Appendix 2. 2.  Semi-Structured Interviews: These interviews follow a predetermined and standardized list of questions. These questions are not asked in the same way in same order to all the participants because these questions are difficult to clarify (Schwarz, 1999). According o Burns (1997), the problem of validity is acknowledged as inconsequential, if the informant’s behavior is congruent with their perception of reality. It is very time-consuming because interviewer needs to record it in written form. Moreover, the data reliability is very low because it is difficult to compare the responses between the respondents. Interviewees give too much information in it which is in depth and useless. Recording information could be very difficult because to write the information is time-consuming and if interview is recorded then candidates may not feel comfortable and give only limited information. (ML.Mitchell and J.Jolley,2009) and (A.Edwards and J.Skinner, 2009) Proposal: To  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  11April,2011 The CEO Elgin Pharmaceutical Edinburgh. Respected Madam, On the basis of this analysis, as an HR manager I am making a proposal for the recruitment and selection for the child care and development staff as follows: As Mullins (2010, p 485) ‘If the HRM function is to remain effective, there must be consistently good levels of teamwork, plus ongoing co-operation and consultation between line managers and the HR manager.’ This is most definitely the case in recruitment and selection as specialist HR managers (or even external consultants) can be an important repository of up-to-date knowledge and skills, For example on the important legal dimensions of this area. (www.cipd.co.uk)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Pre-recruitment activity fig. 2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (S.Pilbeam and M.Corbridge,2006) The first step in pre-recruitment is: 1.  Establishing evidence case for recruitment: Whenever there is a vacancy appears, there is only the opportunity for recruitment and evidence case should be developed before proceeding (ACAS, 2004). As Plumbley (1991), ‘every vacancy presents management with an opportunity to rethink the structure of the organization and the allocation of duties. There are some substitutes for recruitment when any position is vacant and more questions can be discussed like; a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Do the workload predictions justify recruitment? b)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Is the impact of vacancy short, long or medium? c)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How does the recruitment proposal fit with diversity objectives? d)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Does he filling of any vacancy integrate with the human resource plan? (S.Pilbeam and M.Corbridge,2006) 2.  Job Analysis: Job analysis can be done by survey inside the company and outside the company: 1.  Internal survey: The internal survey can be done through distributing the questionnaires in the office staff so that company can gather the information how many employees have children and age of their children. Because 70percent of female employees. 2.  External survey: This survey can be done by gathering information by selecting few samples from the companies/organizations related to child care. Because he company is setting up the new company crà ¨che which is totally different from the previous business. So it will be helpful for the company to start their organization by gathering information from various sources. This survey could be done by questionnaire sent to the different companies. For sample of this external survey see appendix3 Another main step for job analysis is job description: Job description is clearly stated what are the responsibilities and duties of the employees. For further detail of job description see appendix. Job description for the child care and development centre is given below: For the day care nursery company has already make the structure of job description that they total 11 staff vacancies are there for 30 infants and Pre School children. Staffing ratio is already set as follows: For nursery (0-1yr) there are 10 places for infants as well as 4 vacancies for staff [1staff member for 3 babies and 1 cover] For preschool (2-4yr) there are 20 places as well as 7 vacancies for staff [1 staff member for 4 children and 2 covers] There should be hourly wage rate for the employees including full-time and part-time work. The minimum wage rate is  £5.93. Sample of job description is given in appendix4 Person Specification: Qualification: NVQ level 3 Experience: relevant experience with young children Knowledge: health and safety Child development Security Skills: Team working Creative ability Communication skills (red-balloon.co.uk/redBalloonSite/career/perSpecifications.htm) For sample of job specification see appendix5 3.  Labour Market Assessment: It means to provide better understanding of employees and labour supply in the relevant organizations.   In relation to the six equality â€Å"strands† of: ethnicity, disability, age, gender, sexual orientation and religion and belief. A labour market is the identified pool of potential employees from which it is possible to attract candidates of the required caliber for a specified job. A shortage of labour market increases the labour supply demand giving more authority to the candidates. In terms of strategy, a shortage labour market needs a more nurturing recruitment and selection system, and a surplus labour market needs more targeted approach (Walsh, 1992). Due to the remarkable growth of the company as ‘employer of the choice’, more candidates want to do the job with this company. (S.Pilbeam and M.Corbridge,2006) The second step is Recruitment: The company is using recruitment system which is very old, but it is very essential and useful for the company. But company was using these methods for pharmaceutical branch. Whereas, it needs to adapt some other appropriate recruitment methods for child care workers and nursery nurses, to attract more people for the job, therefore, some new methods are added in this proposal as follows: Company should use advertisement method as ‘wide trawl’ to attract large pool of candidates because if there will be large number of candidates company will have more choice to select right candidate for right job with essential skills. Local newspaper is very cost effective method to use as a source of advertisement. Moreover, it is affordable and easily accessible by the people. The other method for advertisement is local shops; company can recommend these local shops to do advertisement for them. School libraries and notice boards are also very useful because most of the people can see the ad and it is free of cost. However students will also motivate towards this career. Job Centres are good source of advertisement. It is also cost effective and not very time-consuming. Word of mouth is more reliable and free of cost advertisement source. The Third step is Selection: After getting number of responses for the job/vacancies the next step is selection. It includes various parts like: Candidates fill the application forms to give an idea about their family and education background. To see the sample of application form for recruitment see appendix There is interview method to select the candidates : Structured interviews Telephone interviews The candidates have to give their bio data as well along with the application form, though its ‘hard copy’ or ‘soft copy’. The main important for child care job to have the enhanced CRB check. It is mostly used for international candidates. It is necessary to check the background of the candidate to make sure that other people have full safety and security. The candidates should have relevant experience in child care, because it is very crucial matter for parents to send their child under experienced or non-experienced person. The candidates when selected have to provide minimum two references: one should be personal and other should be business references (related to the previous job). Last but not the least; candidates should have the work permit. It will show the approval of government to work in any other country or in the home country. S.No. Recruitment Methods S.No. Selection Methods 1. Advertisements 1 Application Forms 1.0 Newspapers 2 Structured Interviews 1.1 Local Shops 3 Telephone Interviews 1.2 Libraries 4 Bio Data 1.3 Community Centers 5 CRB Checks 1.4 School Notice boards 6 Experience 1.5 Job Centre 7 References 1.6 Word of Mouth 8 Work Permit education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/RB409.pdf    Conclusion: After analyzing Recruitment and Selection process, the issues were highlighted: There are fewer methods of recruitment and selection used in the report, which are in use from a long period of time. Therefore the scope of recruitment and selection is very limited. Company used waiting list method for recruitment, but it is not beneficial for the company because if candidates are in waiting list, it could be time-consuming and lengthy process. Moreover, it will restrict candidates not to work anywhere else or they will lose this job. There was not specific method for job description and person specification. In this case study only number of vacancies and role is given but other necessary things like CRB check, Experience, Pay scale is not given. The survey conducting by the company inside and outside the organization give results of female employees, their children etc. The company is setting up crà ¨che and child development centre with limited number of seats. Therefore, other people who don’t get chance to take that opportunity will feel disappoint or become demotivated. The proposal proposed to CEO of the company will help to recruit new highly skilled employees with appropriate method of recruitment and selection process. Hence, company strategy will also change accordingly. Action Plan: Task Responsibility Time period Cost Promotion and marketing of Childcare Advertising and marketing manager September, 2011  £6700 Recruitment of child care workers Recruitment manager November, 2011 12,900 Training Training Manager October, 2011  £58,300 Transport HR Manager December, 2011  £12,300 Child care Voucher Scheme HR Manager December, 2011 5,700 Total:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   95,900 References: vidyalankar.org/files/sample_paper_ntse.pdf red-balloon.co.uk/redBalloonSite/career/perSpecifications.htm bath.ac.uk/personnel/further-parts/06-466R-IG.htm education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/RB409.pdf C.Jackson, Understanding Psychological Testing, 1996 (Pg. 45-46) K Aswathappa, Human Resource and Personnel Management, 2007 ed.4th (pg. 132) www.hr-guide.com/data/G314.htm V.Joosten, Preparing for career selection tests: Numeracy General Ability, 2005 ed. 3rd (pg. 19-20) M.L.Mitchell and J.Jolley, Research Design Explained, 2009 (Pg. 277) A.Edwards and J.Skinner, Qualitative Research in Sport Management, 2009 (pg. 107) www.shetland.gov.uk/policy/documents/ShetChildcareStrategy.doc, (pg. 53 and V) S.Pilbeam and M.Corbridge, People Resourcing- Contemporary HRM in practice, 2006, (pg. 156) S.Pilbeam and M.Corbridge, People Resourcing- Contemporary HRM in practice, 2006, (pg. 146,149,150)    Appendix: Appendix 1: Company Background Elgin pharmaceutical is the very successful and profitable manufacturing company in Edinburgh. There are approximately 600 employees are working in which 70percent are female. This company is using same organization policies from last 40 years and their reputation also enhanced. People want to work with this company desperately because of its popularity, it is also known as ‘employer of choice’. In this company employee wastage level is very low therefore vacancies list is always given in the waiting list. Where employees have an opportunity to work with this company. The new CEO comes in the company and she thought of employee welfare and wants to set up a crà ¨che and child development centre. There are 30 seats for infants and children of employees who are working with his company. This company needs to recruit suitable staff for crà ¨che and child care. Therefore, they provide job description and person specification related to the vacancies. Due to high reputation company can easily attract large pool of candidates to apply for this job. Appendix 2: SECTI ON I : GENERAL MENTAL ABI LI TY TEST ( G. M. A. T. ) SAMPLE PAPER 1. i) A 2 B means A is a mother of B. ii) A 4 B means A is the brother of B. iii) A 5 B means A is the daughter of B. iv) A 9 B means A is the husband of B. Which of the following expression shows the relation that ‘K’ is Mother−in−Law of ‘M’ ? 1) M 9 N 2 K 4 I  Ã‚   2)   M 9 N 5 K 2 J 3) K 5 J 9 M 2 N  Ã‚   4)   K 2 J 9 N 4 M Directions : 2 − 6 : Study the following information carefully and answer the questions given below. i) Six authors P, Q, R, S, T and U, each   one   has written books on six different subjects   viz. Physics, Chemistry,  Ã‚   Psychology,   Sociology, Political science Economics but   not necessarily in the same order. These   books are kept in   a pile but not necessary in   the given order. ii) The book of Physics is written by ‘Q’ and it  Ã‚   is kept below the book of Psychology. The   book of Chemistry is written by ‘R’ and it is   kept just below the book of Sociology which   is not on the top. The book of Political   science is kept between the book of   Chemistry and Economics. The book written   by ‘U’ is not at the bottom. The book written   by ‘P’ is on the top. The book of Sociology is not written by ‘S’ or ‘U’. 2.   Who wrote the book of Political Science ? 1)   S                      2)   T 3) Data inadequate   4)   None of these 3.   Who wrote the book which is kept at the bottom? 1)   R  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2)   Q 3) S  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4)   T 4.   Which of the following combination of ‘Subject’ − ‘Author’ − ‘Position from the top’ is not correct ? 1) Physics − Q − Third 2) Political   Science − U − Fifth 3) Economics − S − Sixth 4) Psychology − P − First 5.   The book of which of the following subject is kept on the top ? 1) Chemistry 2) Psychology 3)   Political Science 4) Either psychology or chemistry 6. What is the position of the   chemistry book from the top ? 1) Second  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2)   Fifth 3) Third  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4)   Fourth Direction : 7 − 9 : Find the odd one out from the given alternatives. 7.   1) Eagle  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2)   Cock 3) Crow  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4)   Parrot 8.   1) PKJQ  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2)   RIGT 3) WDBY  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4)   SHFU 9. Find the missing number from the given response 31 17 58 87 68 19 61 56 91 22 70 50 10 142 11 ? 1) 6  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2)   7 3) 3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4)   9 10. If 34 ⊕ 21 = 20 and 69 ⊕ 35 = 46, then   31 ⊕ 29   = ? 1) 35  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2)   30 3) 45  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4)   64 Section I   ends   here. SECTION   II : SCHOLASTIC APTITUDE TEST (S.A.T.) SAMPLE PAPER 1.   Internal and external surface of a calorimeter are polished. Why? 1) It looks attractive. 2) It prevents rusting by loosing contact with the air. 3) It prevents transfer of heat due to conduction. 4) It prevents transfer of heat due to radiation 2.  Ã‚   What does a pyrometer measure? 1) High altitude 2) Pressure 3) High temperature 4) The radiant energy 3.   Which of the following is not a fundamental physical quantity? 1) Length  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2) Pressure 3) Time  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4) Mass 4.   Which of the following metals react with dilute acids? 1) Copper  Ã‚  Ã‚   2) Gold 3) Silver  Ã‚  Ã‚   4) Calcium 5. Which of the following food components can be   absorbed in the alimentary canal without undergoing digestion? 1) Proteins.  Ã‚  Ã‚   2) Lipids 3) Cane sugar  Ã‚   4) Vitamins. 6.   Srivijaya was a famous ancient Indian kingdom in _____. 1) Myanmar  Ã‚  Ã‚   2) Kampuchea 3) Thailand  Ã‚  Ã‚   4) Indonesia 7.   Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ____Guru of   the Sikhs 1) Second  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2) Eighth 3) Ninth  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4) Tenth. 8.   Sun is a gaseous body it is mainly made up of _________ 1) Carbon dioxide and hydrogen 2) Hydrogen and Helium 3) Hydrogen and Oxygen 4) Helium and Nitrogen. 9. The factors of ( ) 4 x 4 + are : 1) ( ) 2 2 x 2 + 2) ( ) ( ) 2 2 x   2x 2 x   2x 2 + +   − + 3) ( ) ( ) 2 2 x 2 x 2 + − 4) None of these 10.   If 3 chairs and 2 tubes cost Rs.1200 and 5 chairs and 3 tubes cost Rs.1900, then the cost of 2 chairs and 2 tubes (in Rs.) is : 1) 700 2) 900 3) 1000 4) 1100 Section   II   ends   here.   Ã‚  Appendix 3: 1.  Ã‚  Which country do you presently live in? ☠Ã‚  Canada ☠Ã‚  Other 2.  Ã‚  How many children age 6 or under live in your household? ☠Ã‚  0 ☠Ã‚  1 ☠Ã‚  2 ☠Ã‚  3 ☠Ã‚  4 ☠Ã‚  5 ☠Ã‚  6 or more 3.  Ã‚  In your opinion, at what age are children ready to be cared for on a regular basis by adults other than their parents ☠Ã‚  No minimum age - it’s alright even for the smallest babies ☠Ã‚  6 months ☠Ã‚  1 year ☠Ã‚  1  ½ years ☠Ã‚  2 years ☠Ã‚  2  ½ years ☠Ã‚  3 years ☠Ã‚  4 years ☠Ã‚  5 years or older ☠Ã‚  Don’t know 4.  Ã‚  What kinds of child care arrangements – full-time or part-time (including before- or after-school care) are you currently using for the child(ren) age 6 and under living in your home? (Check all that apply) Full-time Part-time One parent is a stay-at-home caregiver ☠ ☠ Off-shifting, where parents work or attend school at alternate times and share care responsibilities ☠ ☠ Care by a relative (either in your home, or in a relative’s home) ☠ ☠ Nanny ☠ ☠ Regular babysitter providing care in your home ☠ ☠ Child care centre ☠ ☠ Nursery school or pre-school program (other than child care centre) ☠ ☠ Home daycare provider ☠ ☠ [Asked only to those who mentioned that they use a home daycare provider in Q4] 5.  You have indicated that you are currently using a home daycare provider to care for your child(ren). Please tell us whether this caregiver is: ☠Ã‚  Licensed ☠Ã‚  Unlicensed ☠Ã‚  Not sure 6.  Have you faced, or are currently facing, any problems or challenges with either finding or maintaining your child care arrangements? ☠Ã‚  Yes ☠Ã‚  No [Asked only to those who answered ‘Yes’ in Q6] 7.  What are/were the problems or challenges that you have faced, or are currently facing, with your child care arrangements? (Check all that apply) ☠Ã‚  Lack of accessible information on care options in my community ☠Ã‚  Difficulties finding a full-time space at a licensed child care centre ☠Ã‚  Difficulties finding a part-time space at licensed child care centre ☠Ã‚  Difficulties finding a home daycare provider ☠Ã‚  Difficulties finding a space/caregiver in a convenient location ☠Ã‚  Difficulties finding child care for the hours I required (i.e. outside normal working hours) ☠Ã‚  Difficulties finding a nanny ☠Ã‚  Difficulties finding care for a child with special needs ☠Ã‚  Difficulties finding any type of care ☠Ã‚  High cost of care ☠Ã‚  Could not afford to stay home ☠Ã‚  Stayed home, but found it a financial struggle ☠Ã‚  Concerns about the quality of care ☠Ã‚  My child had trouble adjusting to child care setting 8.  You mentioned that you are using the following types of childcare: (list of options chosen in Q4). To what degree are you satisfied with the overall quality of your current child care arrangements? ☠Ã‚  Very satisfied ☠Ã‚  Somewhat satisfied ☠Ã‚  Not very satisfied ☠Ã‚  Very dissatisfied 9.  Ã‚  Listed below are possible components of a comprehensive government child care policy. Which of these are most important to you?  You can select up to four options ☠Ã‚  Funding to create more child care spaces ☠Ã‚  Funding to reduce fees for all families using licensed child care ☠Ã‚  Funding to reduce fees for lower income families using licensed child care ☠Ã‚  Funding to improve quality of child care (e.g. training, lower staff/child ratios) ☠Ã‚  Funding to increase availability of part-time licensed child care ☠Ã‚  Direct payments to all parents of children six or under, regardless of child care arrangement or income ☠Ã‚  Increased tax breaks or credits for all parents of children six or under ☠Ã‚  Tax breaks or credits specifically for parents who stay home to raise their children ☠Ã‚  Legislation that would require all home-based caregivers to be licensed and regulated ☠Ã‚  Legislation that would require employers to allow parents of young children to work part time, or have more flexible work schedules ☠Ã‚  Legislation that would increase the length of maternity and parental leave 10.  Ã‚  Would you be willing to pay higher taxes to enable the government to invest in some form of national child care program? ☠Ã‚  Yes ☠Ã‚  No 11.  Ã‚  Child care is just one of many issues facing Canadians and their government. Please rank the following issues in the order of their importance to you (i.e. the issue that should get highest priority in terms of government action and investment should be ranked #1; and that with the lowest priority should be ranked #5).   ___  Health care ___  Defense/National security ___  Environment ___  Higher education ___  Child care 12.  Ã‚  To what degree does a political party’s stand on child care influence your decision to vote for that party’s candidate? ☠Ã‚  Strongly influences – determines my vote ☠Ã‚  Somewhat influences – can tip my vote in favour or in opposition ☠Ã‚  Has little or no influence – child care is not an election issue for me 13.  Ã‚  What province/territory do you live in? ☠Ã‚  Alberta ☠Ã‚  British Columbia ☠Ã‚  Manitoba ☠Ã‚  Newfoundland ☠Ã‚  New Brunswick ☠Ã‚  Northwest Territories ☠Ã‚  Nova Scotia ☠Ã‚  Nunavut ☠Ã‚  Ontario ☠Ã‚  Prince Edward Island ☠Ã‚  Quebec ☠Ã‚  Saskatchewan ☠Ã‚  Yukon 14.  What is the size of the population of the city or town where you live? ☠Ã‚  1,000,000+ ☠Ã‚  500,000 – 999,999 ☠Ã‚  100,000 – 499,999 ☠Ã‚  30,000 – 99,999 ☠Ã‚  10,000 – 29,999 ☠Ã‚  1,000 – 9,999 ☠Ã‚  Under 1,000 and rural 15.  Ã‚  Please tell us your primary employment status at this time ☠Ã‚  Employed full-time ☠Ã‚  Employed part-time ☠Ã‚  Parenting at home ☠Ã‚  Self-employed full-time ☠Ã‚  Self-employed part-time ☠Ã‚  On maternity/parental leave ☠Ã‚  Studying (with or without part-time job) ☠Ã‚  No paid employment ☠Ã‚  Retired 16.  Ã‚  What is your family’s structure? ☠Ã‚  Married or common-law couple ☠Ã‚  Divorced or separated, and primary caregiver for one or more child ☠Ã‚  Divorced or separated, but not primary caregiver for children ☠Ã‚  Single/lone parent 17.  Ã‚  What is your total annual household income? ☠Ã‚  Less than $16,000 ☠Ã‚  $16,000 $19,999 ☠Ã‚  $20,000 $29,999 ☠Ã‚  $30,000 $49,999 ☠Ã‚  $50,000 $74,999 ☠Ã‚  $75,000 $99,999 ☠Ã‚  More than $100,000 18.  Ã‚  Is there anything else that you would like to share with Today’s Parent with respect to your views on child care?

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Least vs. Lest

Least vs. Lest Least vs. Lest Least vs. Lest By Maeve Maddox Least, pronounced [LEEST], is the superlative of the adjective little: little, littler, least. It can also function as noun and adverb: She passed the exam without the least preparation. (adjective) Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. (noun) The person who can least spare it is often the most willing to give others a piece of his mind. (adverb) Lest, pronounced [LEST], is a conjunction that introduces a clause that expresses something that should be guarded against. Although still used by modern writers and speakers, it has a distinctly literary flavor: Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Matthew 7:6 Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow. (Moral to Aesop’s tale of â€Å"The Dog and the Shadow.†) The formulaic phrase lest we forget is especially popular at the time of year when a nation honors its military forces and commemorates the slain. Used this way, it means â€Å"So we don’t forget,† or â€Å"Let us not forget.† For example, this past Memorial Day the phrase appeared on hundreds of websites above photo collections, memoirs, and poems dedicated to the memory of enlisted men and women who gave the supreme sacrifice. â€Å"Lest we forget† is also used as a cautionary expression, warning of disappointment or danger to ensue if something is forgotten: Lest we forget the pastBuying broken or unfinished games. Lest We Forget. â€Å"Remembering Abbott’s Past† Lest we forget, child abuse has many forms. Unfortunately, a great many English speakers are confused about the difference between least and lestat least when it comes to the phrase â€Å"Lest we forget.† A Web search brings up hundreds, perhaps thousands of sites headed by the phrase â€Å"Least We Forget.† Here are a few examples that go beyond the three words: Least we forget in the Twenty First Century Least we forget the Holocaust. Least we forget Vietnam, Ethiopia, you insert any war you like. Least we forget what China actually is I even found a song title spelled â€Å"Least We Forget.† In conclusion, lest you forget, lest rhymes with west. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Addressing A Letter to Two PeopleDisappointed + Preposition10 Functions of the Comma